Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: Sports

UMass Point Guard Ashley Green drives down the court (Photo by Mike Kerpan)

Denny Green, former coach of the Arizona Cardinals said it best: "They are who we thought they were."

The same goes for the UMass Boston women's basketball team. They knew who the University of Southern Maine Lady Huskies were, but could do little about it. The Huskies came into Clark Athletic Center on Tuesday evening and showed everyone why they have won 72 consecutive conference games.

The Lady Huskies, lead by astounding senior forward Ashley Marble, jumped out to a 23-9 lead and never looked back. Marble led all scorers with a personal-career, record-tying 33 points in only 24 minutes of play. Marble also pulled down 14 rebounds and picked up four steals.

Before the game, Lady Beacons' head coach Shawn Renee Polk said, "We can't pay too much attention to [Marble] because she has a good supporting cast." It was evident from the first half play of the Huskies that Marble's supporting cast was indeed very good. In that half alone, eight other Huskies players entered the score book and starting sophomore forward Stacey Kent recorded four of the team's 10 offensive rebounds.

The Lady Beacons were outplayed in every facet of the game, with leading scorer LaKeisha Tucker scoring only seven points (2-10 FG) and recording no rebounds in 22 minutes of play. "We didn't do our job from the beginning," Coach Polk said after the game.

"In my eyes, the loss was more metal than physical," Coach Polk said, responding to the 23 turnovers committed by the Lady Beacons. Although there were no fast-break points recorded, the Lady Huskies kept pushing the tempo of the game, never slowing down until the end.

For the Lady Beacons, junior guard Ashley Greene was one of the few bright spots, scoring 11 (4-11 FG) points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing four assists and collecting three steals in 31 minutes. Sophomore forward Jenn Widener from Hyde Park led the Lady Beacons in rebounding with 11 boards in 25 minutes of play.

With this loss, the Lady Beacons' record now stands at 15-9 over all and 8-5 in conference play. The Lady Huskies improved their record to an impressive 22-1 overall, while staying unbeaten (13-0) in conference play. Both teams are assured of a spot in this season's Little East Conference Woman's Basketball Tournament, with the Lady Huskies owning home-court advantage.

Continued...

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